What’s Happening in the Whedonverse V

2011 has started with some juicy news bits for Whedonverse alumni, and we’ve got that here for you. Some news was splashed all over, some might have slipped by under the radar. Check out what’s been happening!

James Marsters tied the knot with his long time girlfriend in a civil ceremony on January 14, 2011. Yup, James is married! This is his second marriage, the first being to Liane Davidson, with whom he has a son, Sullivan. Marsters met Patricia Rahman at a concert in Amsterdam in 2006, and soon the pairhooked up. Now its all wedded bliss for the foreseeable future!

Nicholas Brendon is starring in a new movie directed by Clare Kramer (Glory from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) called Hard Love. The film is about the break-up between a couple, which leads them to having a garage sale, only to find out that the two have more skeletons in the closet than they do junk. Clare also stars as Kelly in the film alongside Buffy’s Camden Toy! When we find out where and when you can see the film, we’ll let you know.

Jeremy Renner looks as though he might be slated to take over the Mission: Impossible franchise. “It’s a franchise to potentially take over,” Renner said. “I can’t predict the future and what they want, but that’s certainly the idea.” Renner portrayed Penn in the memorable Angel first season episode, “Somnambulist,” and received an Oscar nomination for his role in 2008’s The Hurt Locker. He is curently filming Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocal with Tom Cruise.

Enver Gjokaj (Dollhouse) will be guesting on the NBC series Community, which airs on Thursdays at 8PM ET/PT. He’ll play a character named Lukka, who is described as an Eastern European who sets out to seduce Britta. According to E!Online, the episode is called “Custody Law and Foreign Entanglements,” and should air sometime in March 2011.

Jane Espensen is much in demand of late. Not only is she working on the new season of Torchwood (more on that in the next week), but she will pen the pilot episode of the new SyFy Original series, School Spirits. The series seems to be part reality, part reinactment and partly a fictionalized rendering of real-life hauntings that have occured in colleges and high schools around the US. The accounts will be told in a first-person narritve style from the actual students and faculty. Espenson and fellow Buffy the Vampire Slayer writer Drew Greenberg are slated to pen the pilot episode, “Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased).”

Steven S. DeKnight’s Starz series, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, has been through some turmoil in the last year. When series star Andy Whitfield was diagnosed with cancer, the network postponed filming the second season of the popular drama and created a prequel to the series, Spartacus: Arena of the Gods, which is currently airing. Despite his initial remission, Whitfield’s cancer returned, forcing the young actor to resign from the show, which left the series’ future in doubt. However, the network and exectuvie producers decided to soldier on, and after an exhaustive search, hired Liam McIntyre to replace Whitfield in the title role as Spartacus. As old as the saying is, the show must go on. We wish Andy Whitfield a speedy recovery, and Liam McIntyre well in the role.

NBC has picked up a Grimm pilot from Whedonverse writers David Greenwalt (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel) and Jim Kouf (Angel). According to Inside TV, “The network has greenlit Grimm, described as a ‘dark but fantastical cop drama about a world in which characters inspired by Grimm’s Fairy Tales exist.'” The project is being produced by Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner. We’ll see if it gets picked up for the Fall 2011 television season!

Were you among the fans who wanted to see Nathan Fillion as the Green Lantern? Well, you’ll now get your wish … sorta. Fillion will actually lend his voice to the role of superhero Green Lantern in the DVD movie Green Lantern: Emerald Knights. The DVD is due out June 7 from Warner Bros., just 10 days before the feature film starring Ryan Reynolds in the role hits the big screen. So get in line to be overdosed in green this June!

Michelle Trachtenberg shows she’s got all her parts in the right place with a new Maxim cover. The March issue should be on newsstands now, so if you want to check out a scarntily-clad Michelle, you know where to go.

Kristen, a freelance writer, has been a part of the Whedonverse Network since 2004 and Managing Editor since 2008.She has contributed news items as well as feature pieces reporting on and exploring the wide, wide world of Whedon and beyond.

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Kristen

Kristen, a freelance writer, has been a part of the Whedonverse Network since 2004 and Managing Editor since 2008. She has contributed news items as well as feature pieces reporting on and exploring the wide, wide world of Whedon and beyond.

Hey! How are you? Whedonage is no more, and all forums are supposed to be transported here. If you’ve got Simon’s email, bug him to open them! If I had your email, I’d email you! lol Good to see you. I’ll try to send you a PM.

Endorill@yahoo will get to me. I am okay. My son was careless with a cigarette and burned the house. I had the WORST year of my life last year and am just now getting back to normal. I love all the shiny!
I have missed you guys something awful. I will bug Simon. Since my computer burned in the fire AND all my hard copies of my stories I have no way to replace them except our forums. I am so glad we still have a site. How can I help?